The preferred application field of such profiles, which are preferably made of highly corrosion-resistant, coil-coated input stock, is in roof- and ground-mounted support structures used in the solar industry or other thin-walled substructures with outstanding corrosion-protection properties that are preferably also suitable for corrosion-protection classes C3-h and C4-h according to the DIN 12944 standard.
Aluminum profiles, aluminum tubing, or welded tubes have been used for this purpose up to now in the prior art; aluminum tubing and aluminum profiles are relatively expensive and require the use of a large amount of material due to their lower strength in comparison to steel. Open profiles composed of aluminum or steel have poor strength values (bending, torsion) and are difficult or impossible to stiffen economically or in a correct way from a corrosion protection standpoint. Welded tubes do in fact have good strength properties, but for special applications, can only be stiffened with difficulty and are problematic in terms of corrosion protection. With thin-walled tubes, there is a danger of warping during hot-dip galvanizing, while dip-coating yields only low layer thicknesses. In addition, pretreatment is difficult. Furthermore, when powder-coating and wet-enameling, problems frequently arise with regard to paint adhesion and protection of the interior space. With coil-galvanized, welded steel, the weld seam finishing often causes problems in the subsequent coating process.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to create a profile that is easy to manufacture and has good strength and corrosion properties.